How to maximise your SATs

I scored a 2210 on my SAT subject tests.

Your score may matter a lot (depending on the college/university you have on the wish list) on your merit ranking. My university allotted a 75% weightage to the SAT Scores. That's a lot!
It is important you give it it's due share. Preferably during your holidays.
In this post I recommend a few resources for the tests I gave(math, physics, chemistry) that will hopefully  help you score higher than me!
The higher your passions the more your score. The works man! The works! (usually)

How do I go about the SAT Subject tests?

The SAT's are fun to go about. That's because it is on a different level. So despite your hating math for instance, or the 'not so happy' to look at chemistry, it all swaps.

You can go about math (level 2) from a different angle and still score 800/800.

I Personally found A-level chemistry to be tough, but SAT chemistry, my advice is to go through this first!

Now Chemistry has the highest number of questions between math and physics. But chemistry wont drain you like math might. Choose the tests wisely.

Both my math teacher, and a senior student who scored 2400 , had these books to suggest:

• Barons,
• Kaplan
• And Princeton Review.

According to the senior student, Kaplan has the easiest tests and Barons have the hardiest.

I advice you to study math from Princeton Review(Contains both math I and II). I scored 720 with this book and my other sources tell me an 800 with this book alone has been achieved. (Had I only given it more importance I may have scored more. Don't make the same mistake.)

Now Barons math is tough. Princeton covers it very frankly. It can hardly be called a book of math. You'll be taught tricks to go about it. After all, its just an entry test.

Don't be deceived by the size of this book. They probably made it that way because of the wrong notion students have : "the bigger the book the better."

An estimably 75% of a page is only used.

Math can be finished in one week.

Version 2013-2014 had 2 papers each( level 1, level 2)

Cost is high but definitely worth it!

Buy the latest version of Barons.
I scored 770 in chemistry and 720 in physics. Pity I don't have personal experience to share about other subjects.
Find out from your seniors which books may be most helpful. Be kind enough to share in the comment section so others like you can benefit.

When you choose which ever subject you want to start off with, do it all. Assuming you started physics, after you have read the whole book, go on to practice papers. Don't move to another subject without having done papers. You will forget. If the test is months away Revision will be necessary as well. A chapter a week will do good.

Things are tough when your going through them. When you look back, its a different picture.

What about advice for test day?

Have plenty of sleep. You don't have to panic or rush on the test. A satisfactory preparation will help you avoid so.
Chill!  Your not gonna die. Take some nice chocolates to eat during breaks.
 Time is a greater asset than scoring. You don't have to get every single question right to score full. Skip hard questions for later. If the question is easy but will clearly take time to solve, skip again. You will learn that there are many ways to solve a question. The time consuming good practice way is a no no. The books will help you there.

A lot of people may read this post but not everyone will score high.
Not everyone listens.
Not everyone who listens practices.
Not everyone who practices practices well.
Not everyone who, ok you get the point! (Haha)

How to maximise you NET's.

How do I go about the Nust Entry Tests.

Ideally, you want to have a read of the FSC books. Again math will over whelm you. And chemistry is quite lengthy. You definitely want to take an NET session.

Not that people haven't done it without tuition from the non fsc stream. There are such talented students. But preferably you want to take tuition.

So here is what you do. After your AS, you buy the fsc books(11 and 12. Just tell the store owner to give you matric and fsc books. ) and go through them over the summers.  Now the NET is not just based on the Punjab text book. It can have questions from the KPK book as well. No, you don't read all these books. One is enough to deal with. If you take tuition, the teacher may mention the differences. (There are net sessions. Decide which session is better for you.)

You can score between 90 to 120 out of 200 on your NET without preparation. It is the next set of 50 to 20 marks you require. With the NET accounting for 75% of your admission, I cannot emphasis enough how much each mark is important. Fact is a lot of people score in a particular range. You want to go above that.

The rest 25% will be build on your O-level result to generate your merit. Your A-level will not be used since the result will not be out by then. So what good are they. Your A-level equivalence has to be at least 60% to confirm your admission. The submission of your A-level result has more time allotted than you think or are told, so don't worry about delays. The official warning comes weeks later and you wont be allowed to appear in sessional papers or the like in case you fail to submit them. But that is not your main worry. (if it is a worry.)

Scoring 80 out of 80 in math is quite difficult. It is better one focuses on all subjects as getting 60/80 in math and then scoring more on the other subjects is a far better strategy. It is easier to get more from each subject than to get a lot from one subject. So you definitely want to focus on more than just math.

There is math, physics, chemistry, English and intelligence. The reason students can score up to 120 without preparation is that the NET has both easy and difficult questions. The paper has these jumbled up. The key is to do the easy questions and not waste time on the hard ones. The NET seems to start with nerve shattering questions. You want to skip these for later. Time is a greater asset on the NET than marks.

Your beloved author ( I'm talking about myself you nincompoop ) in his first Net had about 40 questions left in about 20-10 minutes time. Hardly enough to randomly pick an answer! With a better approach, your beloved author finishes with about 20-25 minutes to spare. A drastic change don't you think? I spent the rest of the time going through the questions I had left. This included the tangling questions.

An example of a tangling math question:

In which quadrant is the solution of --sin(60)?

I) 2nd Quadrant

II) 2nd and 3rd Quadrant

III) 3rd and 4rth Quadrant

IIII) 4rth Quadrant

You want to learn the angles by heart. Learn the three triangles in chapter 9(Trigonometry). They have relevance to questions in physics as well.

Physics has simple questions that relate to formula. Such as the formula of angular frequency. You want to pay close attention to the options. On questions such as the units of Joule has more than one answer as they ultimately work out to be the same basic units, so don't rush to click the right option.

Another type of physics questions require you to manipulate. For instance what would be the effect on the escape velocity of a planet if its radius is decreased by half? Sometimes two components will be changed, one which will have no relation. #note : be very comfortable with this.

Lastly there will be questions on facts. These side tables will be very helpful to you.

PHYSICS 11 Punjab curriculum and textbook board. (I'm aware the pages vary for other boards. Try making something out of it.)

These are references to the side boxes or tables that are spread in this book.
To Learn by heart.

pg. 2. Interdisciplinary areas of physics.

pg. 3 order of magnitude of some distance/nucleus, atom, galaxy, nearest galaxy

pg. 6 table

pg. 7 /universe, Earth, year, light waves

pg. 8 /sun

pg. 11 table

pg. 14 table

pg. 15 table

pg. 50/ walking ant, flying bee, electromagnetic waves(light, radio, x-rays etc.)

pg. 82 conservative and non conservative forces

pg. 83 Do you know table, for your information table/jumbo jet, colour tv, pocket calculator

pg. 84 Tid bits, for your information/ Burning one ton coal, petrol. KE molecule of air.

pg. 86 Do you know

pg. 88 table / moon, earth, Jupiter

pg. 91 Energy sources, for your information

pg. 92 table

pg. 93 Solar energy (Reading text)

pg. 95 Residual heat of Earth Reading

pg. 109 moment of Inertia for various bodies

unit 5.17

pg. 128 for your information /air, water, glycerin

pg. 156 interesting information Tacoma Narrow Bridge

pg. 167 speed of sound in different media , copper, Aluminum, glass, Iron.

pg. 168 for your information table

pg. 169 for your information table/ Dolphin.

pg. 200 table

pg. 259 electric generator, locomotive, steam engine.

isothermal, adiabatic, boyles law, Charles law

I found a lot of questions in chemistry to be organic. You should score up to 20+ in this section at least. ( From a net giver who scored 90%+, they had almost full marks in physics, chemistry and English. A 7/10 in intelligence and the majority of their remaining marks lost from maths!)

Intelligence has easy questions where a person walks a few steps in a particular direction and then you have tell where they are. There are  hard questions or time consuming ones. I advice you to learn about Caesar Cipher and Vigenère Cipher.  ( Don't get too lost. Basically words get shifted by some pattern and sequence.)
Shift Cipher
You should know to decode.

When you make the payment and its time to select a date. Do realize it extends a lot. SO be patient and wait for convenience.
I word of advice. Three hours is a long period. You do not want to drink that nice chilled( mine was) Aquafina water bottle they give you. Trust me you don not want to consider having wore a diaper when you realize you have to go really bad.
If entry tests decided the value of a university, I'm sorry to say the NET would not hold out nicely for NUST's image. (Despite the Nice, Chilled, Aquafina, water bottle. ) At least in the eyes of non-fsc students. But what value does a students words have? Not much. Luckily even the Net session physics teacher  remarked that:" Does this question check your physics?" And no. Reluctantly said by students probably from evident difficulty to solve this non physics checking physics question.
I guess the fact so much depends on your entry test is hope for some students. But consistency is better shown with board examinations. And having a higher percentage for it is a wiser decision. Well, there's a variety of university standards. The Net does deserve some praise. You get results the following day!

Lastly our traditions teach us:

•  to keep a decision once you have taken it.
•  that there is no concept of "if".
• "If I had only done this or that." NO, no! What's done is done.

If you work hard with dedication, with persistence, you may win even at odds.
Once you have given your best, have trust in the Lord. It works out. At times in ways we don't imagine how.

SAT VS NET

Making the right choice between the NET and the SAT's is a subtle one.

Given the wrong option, not only will you have  wasted a whole lot of dough, but may fail the admission itself!

In this blog we will not only discus whether one should  give the SAT's or the NET;

and the constituents that will make up that decision;

but also how to maximize your score on the respective decision.

One of the prime objectives of college is to secure a seat in a prestigious university. It is imperative that the right decisions be made in order to achieve this goal, and the sooner one decides on :

• A profession;
• Whether they want to study abroad or not;
• And likewise the method(Sat etc.);

The better are your chances of making it.
I have seen students suffer from the decisions of both the methods. Those who gave the SAT were preparing for the Net the next year and those who gave the Net initially were preparing for the SAT the next year.
This articles hopes to help you avoid such a blunder.
I hope to save your time, money and a whole lot of frustration.

Lets get started.

How do I choose a career?

That is a very good question. I tell you what, one day you will wake up and the realization will just dawn on you!

No, that is not what happens. My understanding is the career decision comes when you sufficiently understand who you are. And that self discovery is the purpose of your education. You don't decide a career based on what gives the most chink-chink nor the one with the most scope. You decide it on what profession you like.
Although, it is ok to go for the most high paying jobs, are you just up for the work?
Along the line, there are people who become electrical and mechanical engineers but realize they are unable to cope with the physically demanding  work!

Don't worry you can always become a teacher as a back up plan. Right? (Don't point fingers.)

There a few professions out there with a party type scene. Who you work for is crucial to your happiness. What you should understand is there is a difference between the profession and the job. In a particular profession there are then jobs. You may like a particular job in that profession. You will have to do a lot of informational interviews( Meeting people of the profession that interest you and asking them questions) to find the road you seek. You will get cold feet now and then. Its normal. Don't throw away a  years worth of planning because of it.

Be patient grass hopper!

• I want you to read a few chapters of this.

CDC

• You should also watch these short and funny videos on this link:

How-to-Plan-Your-Career-Path

• You can be adamant to your choice of humanities. The nation needs you. (Every nation does):

Do I study abroad?

The first question I think should be : Can I study abroad? If you get a good scholarship you are more likely to do so. And your scholarship depends on your AS grade. Once you get a good grade, your institution's career counsellors will chase you themselves! Before that you'll have to get their attention. You'd wanna attend any Education Expos as well. They are held from time to time and you'll meet delegates from foreign Universities. Don't be shy to talk.
And yes. You definitely want to discuss this with your parents.

DO I give the SAT or the NET?

Lets have a look at the pros and cons of both and I'll let you decide which ever seems best to you.

The SAT is far the friendlier among the two. The idea that SAT's are easy for A-level students is wrong. Maybe you consider your English to be weak, that has more to do with the school you went to than the last two years of Matrix or O-level.

In any case, it is the SAT Subject test that is required as this post is predominantly for the Engineering section but stay tuned as Math is a requirement for many other sections and we will talk about that too.

The Net, though do-able, will over whelm you to the point of running away to the SAT's. This may happen because you decided to study it yourself, with a shortage of time on top of you. Unlike the SAT's which you can learn all by yourself and still score a whooping 2300+ (Even 2400!), the NET is  not the same. The FSC books you may have to read are far lengthier. And depending on the subject such as physics for instance a good portion of the questions are based on memorization.
On you having rot the facts. What is the escape velocity in Jupiter? (Don't worry, I'll provide you with a good resource to go about that)

The professional "Swapping back and forth among subject" tactic in tests is possible for Net only.
The SAT subject test is an hour long each. Once you choose a subject test, you have to continue with it. There are breaks after each hour. The NET is straight three hours long.

The NET score is only valid for that year, The SAT however has two years validity.(You may take into consideration the criteria of other universities. The deadline varies and hence when you appeared could be important.) The SAT score takes time to get checked and time again to send scores.( Please plan tests date to meet the deadline of 'last date of score received'. Do also remember to utilize the free send scores) The SAT has more acceptability but not as much as one would hope.  Both have a concept of  'best score  considered'. The NET is wallet friendly, whereas the SAT's are an expensive choice. (mention friend who gave individually) The investment saves you from spending time, money and hard work learning FSC but alas the seats are very limited and hence the SAT's suffer.

The SAT is very competitive. You have a very slight chance on making it on the national seat. I have to be candid. You don't score high, you can forget it. The merit has gone as high as 2380.

But, there is a but. There are international seats which are not as competitive and you are sure to make it through if you score decently.(To be safe 2200 according to our seniors). Do discuss the option with your guardians.
 If not for the fact there were limited national seats, the SAT would be a superb option.

Summary.
SAT's are comparatively easier.
More expensive(especially international seats. COST twice as much) but can be studied by oneself.
Multiple test dates.
Score lasts two years
Currently lacks popular acceptance from majority of universities in Pakistan
Takes time to be checked and sent
Currently Limited national seats
International seats good back up plan.

NET
Relatively less costly
tuition needed
more chances of making it in.
Get scores the following day.


You may apply to both. The more the merrier! I guess that's another advantage of the SAT's. Please don't spend your summers on which. Do at least one in your holidays.


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